Beginning January 1, 2026, a new state law in Texas — SB2420 — introduces age assurance requirements for app marketplaces and developers. While we share the goal of strengthening kids’ online safety, we are concerned that SB2420 impacts the privacy of users by requiring the collection of sensitive, personally identifiable information to download any app, even if a user simply wants to check the weather or sports scores. Apple will continue to provide parents and developers with industry-leading tools that help enhance child safety while safeguarding privacy within the constraints of the law.
Once this law goes into effect, users located in Texas who create a new Apple Account will be required to confirm whether they are 18 years or older. All new Apple Accounts for users under the age of 18 will be required to join a Family Sharing group, and parents or guardians will need to provide consent for all App Store downloads, app purchases, and transactions using Apple’s In-App Purchase system by the minor. This will also impact developers, who will need to adopt new capabilities and modify behavior within their apps to meet their obligations under the law. Similar requirements will come into effect later next year in Utah and Louisiana.
Today we’re sharing details about updates that we’re making and the tools we’ll provide to help developers meet these new requirements.
To assist developers in meeting their obligations in a privacy-preserving way, we’ll introduce capabilities to help them obtain users’ age categories and manage significant changes as required by Texas state law. The Declared Age Range API is available to implement now, and will be updated in the coming months to provide the required age categories for new account users in Texas. And new APIs launching later this year will enable developers, when they determine a significant change is made to their app, to invoke a system experience to allow the user to request that parental consent be re-obtained. Additionally, parents will be able to revoke consent for a minor continuing to use an app. More details, including additional technical documentation, will be released later this fall.
We know protecting kids from online threats requires constant vigilance and effort. That’s why we will continue to create industry-leading features to help developers provide age-appropriate experiences and safeguard privacy in their apps and games, and empower parents with a comprehensive set of tools to help keep their kids safe online.
